Ahead of Super Bowl weekend, federal safety regulators are warning families to be wary of furniture and TV tip-over incidents that land thousands of children in the hospital each year.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning Thursday that families need to ensure that heavy furniture, appliances and TVs are stable, saying it is a "significant safety hazard."
It especially applies to those on the hunt for a new TV ahead of Sunday's matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas.
According to NerdWallet, January and February are popular times to buy TVs, given the discounts associated with the biggest football game of the year.
A worker stocks Samsung televisions at a Walmart store on Black Friday in Secaucus, New Jersey, on November 24, 2023. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The notice comes on the heels of a CPSC report that said 17,800 people are injured annually from tip-over incidents with unstable products.
Children under 18 years old accounted for 44% of those injuries, amounting to one child being treated in the emergency room every 53 minutes, according to the CPSC report.
Of the fatalities associated with these accidents, 71% are children, according to the CPSC.
Samsung televisions inside a Best Buy store on Black Friday in Union City, California, on November 24, 2023. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Meanwhile, furniture-only tip-over incidents increased from 1,800 in 2013 to 4,300 in 2022.
CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric expressed concern about the data, saying these "furniture and TV tip-overs remain a significant safety hazard in American households."
Hoehn-Saric noted that the federal regulatory agency adopted a new mandatory rule under the STURDY Act in 2023, which holds furniture manufacturers to a higher safety standard.
Still, consumers need to take further measures to ensure that heavy furniture is secure, such as installing anti-tip-over kits.